Andrew McDonald

The Concept Artist in a Visual Effects or Animation studio, is assigned at the very start of a project, working closely with a Director, to dream up the intended look and feel of the characters and environments in a film, in 2D form.

The Layout Artist will use storyboards as reference to create camera angles for a scene, as well as placing or 'laying out' the props and environments made by the Modelling department.

A 3D modeler is responsible for bringing characters and animations to life. The term “3D modeling” refers to the process of creating a three-dimensional representation of an object using specialized software.

A Texture Artist is someone who adds layers of colour and texture to a CG asset to make it look realistic. Without them, CG assets and environments would just be a boring, uninteresting grey colour.

A Rigging Technical Director has the responsibility of creating the backbone of a character, literally. The role requires someone to have an understanding of performance, human anatomy as well as a firm grasp of coding languages.

Groom Technical Directors create believable hair, fur, and feather grooms for characters, props and environments. Groom TDs work closely with Creature TDs regarding the requirements for their workflow.

FX Technical Directors, or FX Artists are usually involved in the pre-production planning of a project as they will require a lot of research and development time if the special effects are complex.

Animators are story driven. An Animator breathes life into a modelled character by making it move, talk, and express emotions.

A Matte Painter creates 2.5D elements for shots. He or she might create an asset like a sky, which is added to a sequence of shots and then potentially tweaked or painted on, at the shot level, to break up any repetition.

Traditionally considered a very technical role, the Lighting Artist or Lighter, also needs to have an eye for colour, tone, atmosphere and composition.

A Compositor is responsible for assembling the final shot by combining final layers/renders from other departments.